The Scarlet Blades
by 1Sherlockian
Summary: I can't think of a way to give a summary without spoiling it. Really bad at these. I started writing this over a year ago and it is completed and I'm just now putting it up on here. I'll try to post a chapter a week as I'm working on the second book in this series as well as some other fanfics. Does contain some Romanian words and I apologize if they're not right as I used Google.
1. Prologue

Her fists slammed into the tabletop. She glared at him through her crystal blue eyes. Straight into his own eyes, also crystal blue. Exactly the same. What would you expect from twins? Both had thick, bright blonde hair with dark brown roots and bang tips. Both were extremely well muscled (although she didn't show it), sturdy, agile, lean and tall. However, their personalities couldn't be more different. Where as she was short-tempered, impatient, rough, and a fight lover, her twin was slow to anger, patient, kind and only rough when he needed to be, and preferred to keep some peace, but it didn't matter; she loved him to death anyway. However, at the moment, she would've loved to just strangle him.

"You really need to just calm down Jez." Torrak said. She snorted.

"Calm down? You want me, to calm down, when you're the one being a complete idiot about this! This could be our only chance and your just gonna flick it off!" she growled angrily.

"Just give it a little time Baby-Girl. You're smart. It'll all make sense when you just calm down and clear your head." He replied. She knew he was right, but there was no way she was going to admit that to him, twin or no twin. She snorted again in anger and waved a hand angrily in dismissal before crossing her arms over her chest.

"Whatever. I'll think on it." She said. Jezra turned abruptly and walked angrily out. She didn't need Torrak. She could do this in her sleep it was so easy. She headed to her workshop, also her room, and grabbed all her weaponry. She threw on her twin double bladed mithrodins, crisscrossing the sheaths across her back, same as always. She sheathed her two long bladed daggers, sticking one in each of her knee high, black, felt boots. She sheathed her Saxe knife in the sheath sewn into the left inside part of her jean jacket. She brushed off her grey tank top she was wearing and gazed around her workshop, being sure she had everything as she grabbed her messenger styled bag and carefully threw it on over her shoulder as it held the bomb she'd need for this job. She turned to leave and was surprised to see Torrak standing in the massive two-door doorway to her workshop, his broadsword hilt sticking up over his left shoulder. He was wearing faded blue jeans, just like she was. He wore a plain brown t-shirt. He had his two knives strapped onto the outside of his legs, as always. His arms were crossed.

"You honestly thought that I would let my only sister go on this alone?" he chuckled as she gave him a weird look. She grinned

"Where are Alec and Riley?" she asked.

"Waiting." He answered. Alec was basically the middle child, at the age of fifteen, just two years younger than his twin older siblings. Riley was the youngest at fourteen. Both had thick, chestnut brown, hair, Riley's with bright blonde streaks flashing through it. Alec had bright green eyes and Riley had a purplish glint to his deep blue eyes. Torrak turned and left with Jezra following closely behind. Alec and Riley were waiting for them outside the huge abandoned warehouse that they had cleaned up years ago with their dad and now called home. Alec wore his own faded blue jeans and a grey shirt under an open, red, plaid shirt. He had his longbow in his right hand and his quiver of twenty blue shafted arrows sticking up over his right shoulder. He carried a short sword in its leather bound sheath on his left side. Riley wore a dark orange shirt under a jet black hoodie. He wore his leather strap full of throwing knives and daggers diagonally across his chest from his left shoulder down to his right hip. He had his leather sling and his pouch of pebbles, cushioned to remain silent while he was spying, in his hoodie pocket. All three boys wore black Nikes and had a gold earring through the bottom of their left ear. They were ready. Torrak led the way off, Jezra to his right side and barely half a step behind, Alec and Riley just behind them.

It wasn't long before they were all up on a roof overlooking a dark and dimly lit street. Jezra paced impatiently on the edge of the roof while her twin stood a pace back from the edge, following her with his eyes, ready to catch her if she started to fall, even if he knew she wouldn't. Alec was perched up on the roof of the rooftop water tower a few steps back from them, longbow in his hand with an arrow already loosely nocked to the string, ready to draw and fire when the time came. Riley sat at the base of a large, arcing skylight, leaning all the way back against it. His eyes were closed, but his siblings knew better than to think he was asleep. He was as alert as ever and ready for action in a moment's notice. Soon after, there was the sound of a lone vehicle driving down the street. It slid to a halt outside a warehouse door. Jezra had stopped pacing, Torrak had stopped watching her, Alec had stood up on the water tower and Riley had opened his eyes, resting his right hand on his favorite throwing knife.

The driver's side door of the van opened and the driver stepped out, the passenger soon following. Torrak and Jezra looked at each other and grinned. Their intel had been correct. The Kraang were back in this area of NYC. Jezra quietly unsheathed her twin long bladed daggers, twirling them expertly. She'd use her mithrodins later. She looked to her right, smiling at her three brothers standing there; silent, armed and ready for action. Alex had his longbow up, ready to draw and fire when signaled. Riley twirled his favorite throwing knife in his right hand while holding his favorite long bladed dirk steadily in his left. Torrak held his broadsword in a two handed grip. He lifted up one hand and held up three fingers and mouthed the count down until his hand was a clenched fist. He pointed it at their target and the siblings split up.

Alec remained on the roof while Riley silently moved into position through some back alleys and rooftops, onto the roof of the building next to the Kraang warehouse. Torrak and Jezra waited in the shadows down on the street. All before the two Kraang had moved to the back of their van and threw open the door to reveal more inside with one of their alien weapons in a crate. Torrak raised his hand, all fingers up, and nodded to Riley who took out his sling and loaded it, beginning to twirl it, gaining speed and power as it circled at his side. Torrak made a sudden fist and Riley shot the iron shod pebble, aiming for the Kraang who was carrying the front of the weapon. The shot was true and the Kraang-droid dropped to the ground, a small hole through its forehead. Not even half a second after, a volley of blue shafted arrows slammed into them. Torrak and Jezra then charged them quietly.

No battle cries.

No threats.

Nothing.

Dead silence.

The twins were like silent wraiths as they pounced upon the Kraang from the shadows, just as another volley of arrows slammed into the Kraang. More started to flood out of the building. Jezra lunged at two, slamming her daggers into each of their heads before yanking them out, flinging them at a bunch of others. Torrak swung his broadsword, cleaving a cluster of three in half at the waist. Alec and Riley were soon with them, Alec swinging his short sword, Riley twirling two of his dirks. Torrak cleaved another Kraang-droid in half and then gave a whistle, calling his siblings to his side. Then, they charged the Kraang-droids bringing out their latest weapon. While her brothers led the way, Jezra took out her latest bomb from her messenger style bag. She set the charge for ten seconds, plenty of time for her and her siblings to get clear. The boys slammed into the Kraang, wiping them completely out in a matter of seconds. They caught the crate and set it down. Jezra hacked a hole into its side, big enough to fit the bomb in, and slapped it onto the weapon. She started its charge.

"RUN!" she yelled. Her brothers turned and booked it, Jezra bolting after them. She was a few yards away when a Kraang-droid with the Kraang still inside, grabbed her ankles. She tripped and scrambled up, kicking it off, but she knew it was too late to run. The bomb went off, blowing her back the few paces to the wall. She slid to the sidewalk, out cold.

"JEZRA!" Torrak screamed as he watched his twin get blown back by the small blast from her own bomb. He began to run to her, but his brothers stopped him. He looked back at them, eyes filled with fury and anguish. Alec pointed and Torrak saw more Kraang-droids pouring out of the warehouse. They didn't see Jezra since she was hidden in shadow beside a large garbage bin.

"What help are we gonna do her if we get taken down?" Riley said. He was trying to hold back tears and it was obvious by the catch in his voice. Torrak was torn but he realized the truth in his brother's words. Besides, he was almost certain there was no way she would be seen. He pivoted towards the other way and bolted down the street, his two remaining siblings following on the route back to the warehouse.


	2. Chapter 1

**Okay, so I know this is a really short chapter, but there's not much I can do about it**

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The turtles feet splashed through the water in the sewer tunnels as they headed for their latest Kraang spotting, all thanks to April's weird sighting site she'd put up. Leo stopped under the manhole and quietly moved it before hopping out of the tunnels and giving room for his brothers to follow. The four stood around the manhole as a ton of Kraang-droids raced past the alleyway, chasing after something and completely ignoring the brothers.

"Oh this is just too easy." Raph said, grinning and twirling his Sais. Leo stopped him.

"Hold on Raph. We came here to do one thing and one thing only. The less Kraang that see us, the better." He said. Raph glared at him but didn't run after the Kraang. They snuck to the opening of the alley and gazed out.

Zero Kraang.

They stepped out and gazed around. Mikey gave a low whistle of astonishment. Even Raph was a little shocked.

Thousands of Kraang-droids lay around, some with slashed off heads and other limbs. Some were even cleaved completely in two. Some had small holes in them, as if from small river pebbles. Some had one or two arrows perfectly through their heads, directly between the eyes. At the door to the warehouse, hundreds more were simply blown to pieces. The back of the open truck had been blown completely off and the remaining part was on fire. There was a crate that had also been blown to pieces, more so than anything surrounding it. There were pieces of shrapnel everywhere.

"Whoa." Leo said. Raph nodded.

"Wonder who did this." Donnie said, walking towards the blasted crate. He carefully dug through the debris till he found what he was looking for. He lifted it up to show his brothers. It was part of the barrel from the Energy Cannon.

"Looks like someone else did our job for us." He said.

"Yeah, but who?" Raph asked. Donnie shrugged.

"Beats me." Donnie replied. He set the piece of Energy Cannon back down and looked at the remnants of the crate.

"Looks like a bomb blast to me." Donnie muttered. He looked around for a piece of the bomb.

"Hey guys! Over here!" Mikey called loudly to them. He was standing next to a long patch of shadow, pointing urgently to the other side of a large garbage bin. The three other brothers looked at each other in confusion and exasperation. Leo led the way over.

"What Mikey?" Leo asked as they reached him

"Look!" He said, pointing again. Leo looked and stepped back in surprise. There was a girl there, slumped against the wall of the building in the shadows. She had been completely ignored by the Kraang. Her hair was a mid-length, bright blonde, with dark brown roots and dark brown bang tips. Her eyes were closed so the brothers couldn't tell what color her eyes were. She was wearing faded blue jeans, knee high, black, felt boots and a black tank under an open jean jacket. There was a cut on her right upper arm through the jacket and the blood was fresh, just beginning to dry. She had two gold earrings through the top of each ear. There was a scar running down the right side of her face from just above her eye, curving down and ending under her lower lip. She had two sheaths crisscrossing her back with two of what looked like about 2' long staffs with a curving blade at each end, pointing the opposite way of the other. They also found a Saxe knife in a sheath sewn into the left inside part of her jacket and a long bladed dagger in each of her boots. There was also a jet black Ipod with green headphones wrapped around it in her right jacket pocket. Donnie moved her head slightly forward and pulled back shakily. He looked down at his blood covered hand and then to the back of her head where her hair was matted with sticky blood.

"We need to get her out of here." Leo said. His brothers nodded. Leo gazed around before turning back to them

"Raph, you carry her. I'll lead the way and clear a path when needed. Mikey, follow behind him with Donnie. You two'll cover our backs." He ordered. His brothers nodded.

"Shouldn't we stop the bleeding first or something?" Raph asked. Leo nodded.

"Donnie, find something to wrap around Raph's arm to staunch the blood." He said. Donnie searched the girl's pockets till he found a large roll of linen.

"That'll do it for now." Leo said. Donnie tossed it to Raph who wrapped it around his whole forearm and part of his upper arm.

"Alright let's move." Leo said, leading the way back to the manhole in the alley. Donnie and Mikey carried the girl there as Leo opened the manhole and hopped in, moving off to make room for Raph who hopped in next. Donnie and Mikey lowered the girl into Raph's waiting arms. Raph then followed Leo with the girl, careful to keep her head or legs from smacking against the walls as Mikey and Donnie followed after them, closing the manhole behind them and plunging them all into darkness.


	3. Chapter 2

**I know, they're really short. For all those who stick with it, I appreciate it. The book started out pretty rough, but it gets better**

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The turtles walked into the lair through the turnstiles on the subway side, fanning out into a line, Leo still a step ahead and Raph still carrying the girl. Splinter was still in the Dojo where the turtles had left him.

"Donnie, go grab some more cloth or something so we can lay her down." Leo said. Donnie nodded and raced off to his workshop and quickly ran back with a roll of linen and tossed it to Leo, who caught it and pushed it to the back of the girl's head as Raph laid her down at the corner of the benches in the T.V area. The linen on his arm was soaked with the girl's blood.

"Mikey, go grab Splinter." Leo said. Mikey nodded and raced off to the training area. Raph gazed down at the blood soaked linen on his arm and then at the unconscious girl whose tan skin was getting paler by the second. Splinter soon rushed in with Mikey behind him. Splinter took one look and swiftly began dishing out orders.

"Donatello, grab some more linen. Michelangelo, go get me a pot of warm water. Raphael, take that dirty linen off your arm and go grab my herb bags from my room. Leonardo, tell me what happened." Splinter said. While his three brothers ran off to do Splinter's bidding, Leo began to explain everything.

"Well, we went to the warehouse where April said and the Kraang were already destroyed, blown or hacked to pieces. The weapon was blown up along with half the truck used to carry it. Mikey found the girl against the wall. We're assuming she was the one who set the bomb, or part of the team who set the bomb anyway. Then we grabbed her and came back here." He replied. Splinter nodded and stroked his chin, eyes closed, as Leo's brothers came back with what Splinter had sent them for. Mikey set down the pot of warm water as Donnie and Raph handed Splinter the linen and his herb bag.

"You all did very well." He said, beginning to tend to the girl. He mixed some herbs together, using a little bit of the warm water. He smeared it over the wound on the girl's head after feeling for how big it was. He then washed the linen in water and wrapped it around her head, keeping it over her forehead then going down slightly to the wound. Then, he washed his hands off in the water and stood up. The brothers looked at him expectantly.

"The wound is not deep enough to worry about. When she awakes, we can move her somewhere more comfortable. For now, Leonardo, you will keep an eye on her. She should wake soon." He said before walking off to take care of his things.


	4. Chapter 3

**I apologize for taking so long guys. School just started and I've been trying to get back into the swing of things. Anyways, this is the first chapter where Romanian is used so the translations will be at the bottom of the chapter and listed as 'Vocab', although some are defined within the chapter itself and I'm fairly confident in the spelling of the only Japanese word I used as it took forever to figure out. Remember, they're not gonna be perfect as I don't know Romanian very well and so used Google Translate which makes plenty of mistakes. So, if there are any native Romanian speakers out there reading this, please don't be offended! Thanks for the understanding and patience every one =D**

* * *

"Torrak! Alec! Riley! Frații mei! Unde sunt frații mei?" the girl cried out suddenly. Leo swung away from the T.V to face her.

"Frații mei! Unde sunt frații mei?" she shouted out again. The turtles all looked at each other in confusion. They had absolutely no idea what she was saying. Leo rested one of his steady hands on her shoulder.

"Easy. Look, we're not gonna hurt you." He said

"Torrak! Alec! Riley!" she yelled out again, her eyes searching frantically. Splinter came out of the training area and quickly went to Leo's side.

"We'll find them; don't worry." Leo promised, not exactly sure who 'they' were.

"What's your name?" He asked. The girl closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. It was obvious by now that her brothers weren't there. Why would they be? They all probably thought she was dead.

"Jezra," she said, "Jezra Mikkelson."

"Ok, Jezra. I'm Leo and those are my brothers: Raph, Donnie, and Mikey." He said, pointing them out then turning to his mentor and father.

"This is Master Splinter."

"S'up Jezra?" Mikey said, tumbling over to them. Donnie smiled at her and Splinter dipped his head. Raph simply grunted. Jezra smiled nervously.

"Where are my brothers?" she asked, hoping they would've at least seen them, hoping they were alright.

"You were the only one there." Mikey answered, shrugging. Leo nodded in agreement.

"We found you blacked out near the Kraang base. Do you remember what happened?" Leo asked. Jezra rested her head in her right hand, elbow propped up on her raised knee. Her head was pounding like crazy, making it hard for her to think.

"Could I get back to you on that?" she said, giving a short and weak laugh.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked. She slowly shook her head, grunting in sudden pain.

"My head's poundin' like a mile a minute." She groaned, clutching at it in pain, her knuckles turning white. Leo let his gaze flick over to Splinter and away again.

"Alright, we'll let you rest first, then we can talk. But, if you can remember anything important, don't hesitate to come and tell us." Leo said. She nodded and laid back down, her hand still against her head, her eyes closed tightly. They popped back open suddenly.

"The weapon! Is it gone? Did we destroy it?" she asked, gazing fearfully at Leo. He smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, it's destroyed. Seems you did our job for us." Leo replied.

"Slavă Domnului!" she breathed out. Donnie blinked in confusion and gazed around the room for someone who could translate. Splinter probably could. Raph, who was leaning against the bench while sitting on the floor, grimaced.

"What?" he snapped.

"Oops, sorry. I forgot that you probably don't speak Romanian. It means 'thank goodness'." She replied. Leo glared at Raph before turning back to Jezra.

"You said you worked with others?" Leo asked. She nodded.

"Yeah. Me and my three brothers. We were born in Romania. That's where our parents are from. We moved to America when me and my twin, Torrak, were four. My two younger brothers weren't more than babies then. Alec was about two and Riley was one." She said. Leo tapped his foot thoughtfully and sat down on the bench at her feet.

"Your family; do you have any idea where they could be right now?" he asked.

"I hope they're safe and back at the warehouse, but as far as I know, they all think I'm dead. And, for the time being, I think it's best if it stayed that way." She sighed. Leo nodded.

"We'll bring you back to them when this is all over. But, we should probably let you rest finally." He said. She nodded sadly.

"You don't happen to have a more 'private' place for me to crash, do you?" she asked quietly.

"Master Splinter?" Leo asked.

"The ridge above the water should do. Leonardo, grab some blankets and hang them up to give her more privacy." He replied.

"Hai, Sensei." Leo replied, getting up and heading off to grab the blankets. Jezra smiled a shy thanks to Splinter as he smiled back and went back to his room. Leo returned, balancing a small mound of folded blankets in his hands.

"This good?" he asked. Jezra nodded and slowly stood up; steadying herself as she began to feel light headed and swayed slightly. Raph quickly stood up and rushed to steady her, grabbing her arm. He blushed and gave a small smile that was instantly gone.

"Thanks." She said quietly. He gave a small cough and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, no problem." He said. She gave him a small smile of appreciation. Raph stiffly nodded towards the ledge.

"Ready?" he asked gruffly. Jezra nodded and let Raph lead her to the ledge. Leo watched them with interest and hid a smile of understanding before following with the blankets.

"Here" Raph said, helping Jezra up after he got on the ledge. She stood beside him as he leaned over and grabbed the blankets from Leo. Jezra gazed around before taking a blanket and carefully hanging it up on one side. Raph grabbed a blanket and began to help her hang them up. She smiled thanks to him as the last one was hung up and she laid one in a corner for a bed. Not that she'd be sleeping. She doubted she'd be able to fall asleep for even a second, worrying about her brothers. Raph nodded and walked out. She sat down against the wall on top of the blanket and pulled a picture out of her jacket pocket.

It was in color and slightly faded. She softly brushed her hand over it and smiled. In it, were her, her three brothers, and her father. She and Torrak were only eight. Alec was six and Riley was five. Torrak and Jezra were standing on each side of her father, his arms draped affectionately around their necks, holding them close to him. Alec and Riley stood in front of him, Riley in front of Jezra with her hands on his shoulders and Alec in front of Torrak with Torrak's hands on Alec's shoulders. In black pen ink, on the bottom, was written, 'The Mikkelsons'. She turned it over and her smile slightly faded. On the back, was written everyone's names and their birthdates. Except for her father's who also had his death-date. She flipped it back over to the side with the picture and her smile came back, if not a little sad. She brushed the picture again, resting on her father. He was tall and well-muscled with a shock of bright blonde hair with slight flashes of chestnut brown. He had deep, blue eyes. He was wearing a pair of well fitted, boot cuffed, jeans and a red shirt under a leather jacket. He wore leather fingerless gloves and had a silver chain around his neck with a locket on it. Inside, she knew, was a picture of her mother. Her father had been buried with it.

"Am nevoie de tine tata." She whispered. She held the picture tightly to her chest.

"I mean it dad. I need you." She whispered again. She bit her lip and tightly closed her eyes to keep back the tears that she felt coming forth at the thought of her father and that fateful day that started out as a simple, training day. She steadied her breathing and wiped away a tear before slowly slipping the picture back into her pocket.

Mikey, who'd been fiddling around with his nun chucks for a while now, lifted his gaze over to Leo.

"So….What now?" he asked. Leo looked at him then away, not really focusing on anything in particular, and shrugged.

"I'd say, that's all up to Jezra." Leo replied. Raph was at the doorway to the kitchen, watching Jezra's area. He turned and disappeared into the kitchen with spike on his shoulder.

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**Vocab**

_**Frații mei! Unde sunt frații**_** _mei?-_ My brothers! Where are my brothers?**

_**Slavă Domnului!- **_**Thank goodness!****  
**

_**Am nevoie de tine tata- **_**I need you Daddy.**


	5. Chapter 4

The next morning, the turtles were up and eating breakfast in the kitchen by nine. Raph gazed around and realized Jezra wasn't there. He quickly finished his breakfast, got up, and left the kitchen. Leo watched in interest, having an inkling of where his brother was going. He shrugged and went back to his breakfast.

Raph entered the main part of the lair and gazed over at the makeshift walls of Jezra's area. He walked quietly over and gently moved aside a part of the blanket wall. Jezra was asleep, sitting alongside the section of the actual wall that fell within the perimeter of her area. Her knees were drawn up with her left arm draped over her stomach with her hand hanging against her opposite hip, her right arm hanging loosely against her side, her right hand on the floor, palm up. Her back was to him. In her open hand was a picture. He stepped slightly into the little 'room', letting the blanket fall back into place behind him. He kneeled down and gently took the picture from her hand. He held it carefully and gazed at it. On the bottom it read 'The Mikkelsons' in neat black ink print. This was her family. Raph gazed over her brothers and the man in the middle, probably her father, before turning it around and gazing at the names and birthdates. His eyes froze for a few seconds on the dater of her father's death. He was a little shocked that Jezra's father had passed away only three years ago. He looked back at her sleeping form before gently slipping the picture back into her hand. His eyes caught on something resting on her stomach beneath her left arm. Feeling like he was intruding more than a little, he slipped it out and realized it was a second picture, a lot newer than the other faded picture from her hand, probably somewhere around a month old where was the older one had been taken when Jezra and her siblings were just kids.

This newer picture was of her and her brothers, standing outside a warehouse, probably their home or somewhere familiar to them. It was obvious who the eldest siblings were. There was a boy next to Jezra with thick, bright blonde hair with dark brown roots and bang tips and crystal blue eyes, exactly like Jezra's. He had a gold earring through the bottom of his left ear, just like the other two boys in the photo. All three boys also wore faded blue jeans and black Nike's. The eldest had an arm draped over his sister's shoulders and her arm was draped over his. The two were obviously extremely close. He was also wearing a plain brown T-shirt with torn sleeves, revealing black flame tattoos wrapping around his muscular upper arms. The two younger brothers were kneeling in front of them. Both of them had chestnut brown hair, one with blond flashes. The one with plain chestnut brown hair had green eyes and wore a grey undershirt beneath an open, red, plaid shirt and was kneeling in front of the eldest brother. The one with the blonde flashes, who was most likely the youngest, had purplish blue eyes and wore a dark blue shirt and was kneeling in front of Jezra.

"That's Riley." Jezra said quietly. Raph jumped slightly in surprise. He turned to her and she smiled.

"Fratele meu mai mic. 'My little brother'." She said sadly. Raph looked back at the picture.

"So, this is your family?" he asked. She nodded sadly.

"What's left of it. It's just us kids now. Riley's the youngest." She replied. She sat up and crossed her legs, scooting carefully to Raph's side. She pointed to the blonde haired boy in the picture

"That's my twin brother, Torrak. He's the oldest. He's also kind of our leader. Tries to keep us out of trouble and stuff. I help where I can." She said. Raph pointed to the only one she hadn't named.

"That's Alec. I guess you could call him the 'middle child'." She replied. She had a distant and sad look in her eyes.

"You miss them?" Raph asked her. He didn't know why he asked. It was obvious she did, but asking felt like the right thing to do at the moment. Jezra smiled and nodded.

"More than anything." She replied quietly. Both of them were silent for a few minutes, looking at the picture of her and her remaining family. Raph was aware of how close they were. Finally, he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Um, there's breakfast in the kitchen if you're hungry." He said, handing her back the picture and standing up. She smiled up at him.

"Ok, I'll be right there." She said. Raph turned to leave, stopping as he began to move the blankets. He turned back to Jezra.

"Sorry for intruding." He said, a little awkwardly. Jezra laughed quietly.

"It's fine. Come in anytime you want Raph. I wouldn't mind someone to talk to every now and then. Just, next time, make sure I'm awake first." She said. Raph grinned.

"No prob." He said, turning and leaving. Jezra wasn't long after.

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**Vocab**

_**Fratele meu mai**_** mic- My little brother**


	6. Chapter 5

**Okay, so I'm well aware that the chapters are pretty short as of late which is one of the reasons I'm posting as much as possible. The other is my teachers have been very lax on us lately and I've had little to no homework all week. So, I apologize for the short chapters and I think they get longer as we go on, but I forget =)**

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Jezra was in the Dojo, training with Raph. It had been almost a full month since they'd found her blacked out at the Kraang base and the day after when she and Raph had viewed her pictures of her family. In the days and weeks that followed, he'd often come into her closed off area and the two had talked about her family. She'd also taught him a good amount of Romanian. They had become almost inseparable. Where one was, the other was bound to be.

Jezra dodged nimbly to the side as Raph jabbed at her mid-section with a right fist. She swiped down with her arm in the same, smooth movement as her dodge. Raph yanked back his arm as Jezra's came down. He aimed a swipe at her head and she ducked under it, feinting a blow to his stomach, distracting him as she swiped his legs out from under him with the other, bringing him crashing to the ground. She knelt down next to him, gently placing a hand on his chest, playfully holding him down.

"Two outta three, huh? Well, I think I won there." She said, smiling mischievously down at him. He grinned and gently shoved her away as he stood up.

"Yeah, yeah. I went easy on you, Jez." He growled. It was obvious to her by the look in his eyes that he was lying. He may've held back a bit, but he'd tried his best. She smiled more warmly at him.

"Of course ya did, tip dur." She chuckled. Raph smiled. He'd gotten used to Jezra slipping in and out between English and her Native Tongue. He bowed mockingly.

"Why, mulțumesc." He replied, grinning. She laughed, happy that he'd been able to learn at least some words in Romanian, even if they were mostly basic.

"Nice, Raph. And, cu plăcere." She giggled, something rare. Raph smiled at her.

From the shadows of the doorway, Leo smiled. He was glad his brother and Jezra were getting along so well. Now, Raph knew how he and Donnie felt. Leo turned and quietly walked away to go talk to Donnie. He wondered if things would work out between his brother and their new ally. His thoughts trailed off to the problem of Jezra's family. They still had a promise to keep of bringing her back to her family. Of course, they had to track them down first. From what Jezra had said, that was a lot easier said than done. Then, there was the Kraang to deal with. He realized their lives had gotten very busy and complicated as of late. He shrugged and continued on to Donnie's workshop.

Back in the training area, Jezra and Raph were leaning against the tree, laughing as she talked about her brothers and some of the fun times they'd had. She had her knees drawn up with her arms draped across them, her hands hanging down. Her head was all the way back against the trunk of the tree. Raph sat cross legged next to her, his arms crossed against his torso. They slowly stopped laughing and sat there in silence for a little while. Raph turned to look at Jezra. Her eyes were close and a long lock of her bright blond hair had fallen over her shoulder. Her gold earrings caught the light from above. He couldn't help but smile. She was amazing and beautiful. Raph froze. Was he serious? If he was, he hoped his brothers didn't find out or he'd never hear the end of it! He realized how Donnie and Leo probably felt. He jumped slightly as he heard a slight growl. Jezra smiled sheepishly and clutched her left arm over her stomach.

"Scuze! Didn't realize how much of an appetite I'd worked up." She said. She stood up and waited as Raph followed suite. She headed off to the kitchen with Raph next to her. He smiled hiddenly. Oh yeah, he was definitely in love.

* * *

**Vocab**

_**Tip dur- **_**Tough guy**

_**Mulțumesc- **_**Thank you**

_**Cu plăcere- **_**You're welcome/Welcome**

_**Scuze- **_**Excuse me**


	7. Chapter 6

Leo entered Donnie's workshop. His brother was working on some blueprints that Leo had left with him. Leo headed over to him and stood behind him, gazing over Donnie's shoulder at the blueprints. While Leo had been gone, Donnie'd found a good amount of open ways to get in, some more difficult than others.

"Any suggestions?" he asked, breaking the silence. Donnie nodded and pointed to one. It was obvious by all the markings and sketches that he'd put a lot of thought into this single point of entry.

"There's a fairly large vent here that should be easy to break open. It's completely devoid of any alarm or security system as far as I can tall. I've already prepared everything that you could possibly need. Are you sure about this, Leo?" Donnie asked. Leo nodded.

"Yeah. It'll be a quick in and out and it'll give us a bit of a step up on the Kraang." He replied. Donnie nodded and pointed to a small pile of equipment. Leo went over to it and began to carefully place them in a leather satchel Donnie had placed beside them. The small collection contained a handheld grappling hook, a small sack of about six ninja smoke bombs, a pair of gloves with claws on them for scaling the wall, and an electronic lock picker. Once Leo had finished carefully placing it all in the satchel, Donnie handed him a rolled up, smaller version of the blueprints with places marked off and a route mapped out to where he needed to get to. Donnie also handed him an earpiece and he slipped it on. Donnie had one on his head as well, the one he typically used. Leo remembered him using it for Metalhead.

"Alright, I'll be feeding you the route info and such via the earcom. When you get there, just download all the info into this USB drive." Donnie instructed, handing it to Leo. Leo nodded and headed quietly out, watching as Raph and Jezra walked past, talking quietly, their arms brushing. Leo smiled faintly and ghosted out of the lair unnoticed, heading down a sewer tunnel to its first manhole. He climbed up the ladder and hopped out after removing the cover. He replaced it as carefully as possible and stood up, gazing around, waiting for Donnie to tell him where he was going.

"Head up to the rooftop of the building to your left." Donnie's voice crackled through the earcom. Leo swiftly made his way up to the rooftop and ran to the opposite edge, sliding to a halt. He gazed around, searching for the Kraang building. He sighted it not far off and hopped down into the alley below. He pressed his ear piece, cutting off the static so he could speak.

"I saw the building. I can get there on my own. I'll let you know when I get there." He said, releasing the communication button as Donnie replied back with an "Okay". Leo began to move off when he heard a slight noise behind him. He whirled around with his katanas suddenly in hand, just in time to catch a faceful of a broadsword hilt, stunning him and blurring his vision with blood from where it cut his brow. Following immediately after, a knife hilt slammed into the back of his skull with enough force to knock him unconscious.

As the mutant fell to the ground, his katanas falling from his limp hands, the three boys looked at each other. As much as they each hated the Kraang, they had no other choice. They were caught. The eldest sheathed his broadsword across his back again, the hilt sticking up over his right shoulder. The youngest re-sheathed his knife in the belt full of knives that was strapped diagonally across his torso.

"Alright, we're all clear on the plan. Right?" the eldest asked. They couldn't risk anything going wrong and they all knew it. There was too much at stake for them right now. His younger brothers nodded before the youngest answered, just as the eldest knew he would. He almost always did.

"Yeah, Tork. We're clear. We go in and trade this in for Jez. Then, we book it out of there and blow the place sky high." Riley replied, just a little too happily, grinning broadly. Torrak couldn't help but smile.

"Why is it that whenever we mention something blowing up, you get so excited? It's creepier than when Jez does." Alec said. Riley just continued to grin. Torrak rolled his eyes as he crouched down and bound the mutant's hands and feet with rope, connecting the two with another piece of rope. Alec helped him carry the limp form out of the alley and to the truck, Riley sidling past them to wait by the cab of the truck as his older brothers roughly tossed the mutant into the truck bed. Riley hopped in and took a seat on a spare tire with a blanket draped over it. It was his job to watch over their captive. He slid a dark hood over its head so it couldn't see what was going on in case it woke up. Torrak hopped into the driver's seat and started the truck as Alec got into the passenger's side, tossing the leather satchel he'd taken off the mutant into the back seat. Torrak took off, head for the meeting place which also happened to be the latest Kraang base. Those aliens could be real idiots when it came down to it. As he drove, Torrak's thoughts drifted. All of this was his fault. He'd left his twin for dead and now, he was finally gonna make it up to her. He just had to.


	8. Chapter 7

Raph, Jezra and Mikey were all sitting in the kitchen when Donnie burst in. Jezra and Mikey each had a slice of pizza in their hands and were eating them. Raph was feeding Spike some lettuce leaves. They all looked up as Donnie stood in the doorway, radiating anxiousness.

"Leo's gone off the grid!" he said. The three of them stared at him blankly. Donnie sighed and slid onto a stool as he began to explain how Leo had gone on a solo mission and how Donnie'd suddenly lost contact with him. Jezra nodded thoughtfully as Donnie finished his explanation. She stood up and headed for the doorway, halting and turning back to the three remaining turtles.

"Meet up in the subway entrance of the lair when you have your weapons." She said before turning and leaving, headed to her closed off area. Raph's brothers turned to him and he shrugged.

"Well? Come on." He said, standing up. Donnie and Mikey exchanged a grin.

"You sure you're not just following her because she's your _girlfriend_?" Donnie asked, a heavy teasing tone in his voice. Mikey snickered. Raph glared daggers at them.

"She's not my girlfriend. And I'm following her because she's gonna help us get Leo back." He growled.

"Sure." Mikey said, mockingly. Raph glared at him.

"Just do what she says and go get your weapons." He growled angrily before walking out. His brothers exchanged a grin and followed him.

Jezra waited on the other side of the turnstiles at the subway entrance, leaning against the wall, her eyes closed, arms crossed and her right foot up on the wall behind her. She opened an eye as she heard the sound of someone jumping over the turnstiles. She pushed herself off the wall, uncrossing her arms and walked over to them. She was fully armed with all her weaponry, the top blades of her two double bladed swords sticking up over her shoulders. Although they couldn't see it, she also had her two long bladed dagger sheathed in her boots and her Saxe knife was sheathed in her jean jacket which she was currently wearing again. The jacket still had the slash across the sleeve and the tear was outlined by a dark circle of dried blood. They could see her almost fully healed scar through it.

"So, I assume you know where Leo was when you last talked to him." Jezra said. Donnie nodded.

"Then lead the way." She said, gesturing for him to do so. Donnie nodded and headed off with Jezra, Mikey and Raph following.


	9. Chapter 8

The four silently dropped into the alleyway where Leo had been last. Jezra instantly took charge.

"Look for anything out of place. Anything, no matter how small, could tell us who took Leo and maybe even why." She said, disappearing deeper into the alleyway. Her three companions looked at each other and shrugged, splitting up. Mikey headed out of the alley to the road, Donnie remained in the alley and Raph went after Jezra. Something in her voice made him feel like there was something she was keeping to herself. When he reached her, she was crouching near the back of the alley, examining something on the ground. He walked up and crouched beside her. She was scrutinizing half of a wet footprint in a mound of 'dirt'. She turned and smiled faintly at him. It was obvious by her face that something about the footprint had spooked her, but Raph knew enough not to pursue it. She'd tell him when she felt he needed to know. She stood up and Raph followed suite. She sighed.

"There's something I need to tell you that's been on my mind, Raph." She said quietly. He nodded and she led him over to an overturned wooden crate and sat down. He sat down next to her. Jezra took a deep breath before she began.

"Me and my brothers….we don't just fight the Kraang. We have another field of work. We….how do I put this? We….well, I guess you could say we catch…criminals. Not, like small game like thieves and small time thugs. More like…the big game." She said, wringing her hands slowly. Raph was confused and his face clearly spoke it.

"What?" he asked. She sighed and ran a hand through her bangs, holding onto some and twirling it around her fingers before letting it drop before continuing on explaining.

"Me and my brothers…..well, I guess you could say we're bounty hunters or something. We catch killers. Specifically, serial killers. Our dad did it before us and it's what he trained us for. He made a deal with the FBI people that he worked with to let us live on our own no matter what happened to him and to let us help in any cases. We hunt the serial killers down before they can kill any more innocents, and then, well, I guess you could say we 'take out the trash'." She finished. Raph slightly raised an eye.

"You mean you kill them?" he asked. Jezra rushed to explain.

"No, we don't kill them. Well, it's not like that's never happened…..we try to catch them alive. 'Taking out the trash', is our term for handing them over to the feds through our chain of contacts. We try not to do so directly. Lots of questions come up. They're a little difficult to answer." She explained. Raph gave a sigh of relief. He looked at her.

"So, any reason why you told me all this?" he asked. She grinned and shrugged.

"Not really. I just felt like I had this massive weight on my shoulders for not telling somebody. I figured you of all people should be the one I told." She said. Raph tried to hold a massive grin from breaking across his face. _Him of all people, eh? _ He was oddly pleased about that. They both looked up as Donnie raced over.

"Mikey found something." He said before turning and racing back to the road and disappearing around the corner. Raph stood up and held out his hand for Jezra. She took it and he pulled her up. She smiled at him and led the way down the alley with him following at her side. He wondered if she would say anything about the footprint. Based on the look on her face when he'd walked up, probably not. He wondered what about it had spooked her so much.


	10. Chapter 9

Jezra and Raph reached Donnie and Mikey who were crouched down on the road, looking at something. Jezra and Raph exchanged a look of slight confusion and interest before heading over to them and crouching beside them. There were tire treads as well as a small drop of oil. A trail of oil led off down the road. Raph turned to Jezra as he heard her gasp. She looked like she'd seen a ghost, her face drained of almost all color. She knew exactly who had done this, Raph could tell.

"I could've sworn I fixed that leak." She whispered, barely audible. Donnie and Mikey now turned to her.

"What was that?" Donnie asked, noticing the look on her face. Jezra shook her head, coming back to reality.

"Nothing." She quickly answered. Donnie shrugged as Jezra stood up and began to follow the trail of oil. Raph exchanged a look with his brothers before getting up and heading after her, his brothers following. Jezra halted and waited for them.

"Jezra, I just thought of this so, don't take it the wrong way, but what if the car that took Leo heads onto a busy street? How're we gonna find it?" Raph asked, although he had the feeling it wouldn't be heading any place busy.

"Easy. I know what the car looks like. It's a black Ram pickup, made back in 2003, recently in a crash resulting in a scrape along its left side and a dent in the right passenger side door." She answered. Donnie blinked, slightly surprised.

"And, no offense, but how do you know this?" he asked. Jezra sighed.

"I know because I'm the one who drives it and who found and got it in working condition. I'm also the one who started to fix that oil leak, but apparently it didn't work as well as I thought. Oh well, all for the better I guess." She said, in a tone that told them she didn't wanna talk about it. Donnie and Mikey headed off on the oil trail again with Raph following. He sensed Jezra need some alone time. As Jezra walked a few paces behind the turtles, she took a folded slip of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. She smiled at it as she began to read it again. It was written in Romanian.

_I know you're out there sis. Torrak doesn't wanna listen to me. You know him. Gotta make everything difficult. I know you'll get this. Call it that 'sixth sense' you always say I have. Guess that's what I get for being the Owl, right? Anyways, something about this mutant we're bringing in…I know you'll be there. Be careful and I hope you come back to us soon -Riley_

Jezra refolded the paper and slipped it back into her pocket. Leave it to her little brother to know the truth on shear impulse. She hoped he was safe and with the others. She couldn't wait 'til this was all over and she could see her brothers again. She realized she'd fallen far behind her companions and race to catch up to Raph, walking at his side with her arm brushing his. She smiled as she slipped her hand into his and she felt him jump slightly in shock before gently squeezing her hand. Well, at least she'd gotten one good thing out of this whole mess. She was still a little surprised that she was falling in love with a mutant turtle. Oh well, life was just full of surprises. At least they were good ones.


	11. Chapter 10

Torrak parked the truck in an alley a few buildings away from their destination and got out. If anything happened to his twin's 'baby', he'd be staring down the blade of her daggers before he could even begin to explain, and he knew it. Alec got out of the car and they headed to the truck bed where Riley helped them take the mutant out. It took them a few minutes to carry the mutant to the entrance of the Kraang base. When they reached it, the mutant was beginning to awake, groaning and shaking his head as they set him on his own two feet, still bound with the sack over his head. They watched as the mutant realized he was bound and gave a grunt of surprise before beginning to struggle against his rope bonds. Torrak smacked him roughly upside the head.

"Calm down. It'll be over soon." He growled, a slight edge of anger in his voice. He roughly grabbed an arm as Alec took the other and they followed Riley into the building, making their way to their destination in the middle of the building.

Leo was slightly stunned. That blow to his head had sent it ringing again. He had no idea where he was or who had jumped him. Something about them though…..he couldn't put a finger on it. They reminded him of someone, especially the one who'd spoken to him, but he couldn't think of who. Leo could see the foggy haze of bright lights as they walked through a building. He could see the form leading them. His silhouette pricked at a memory and he concentrated on that. But every time he was about to close in on it, the memory seemed to skim just out of reach, taunting him. That and his head was still ringing, distracting him from concentrating. He remembered Jezra telling him once about how her eldest brother often told her that the best way to remember things, was to simply zone out. It would come on its own. Then, it hit him like a brick to the face.

Jezra!

That's who his captors reminded him of! The realization was like a blow to the gut. He actually almost doubled over with it. These were Jezra's brothers? Why? What were they doing? From what Jezra had stated, they hated the Kraang with everything they had. Something about their father. She had refused to go any further. Not even Raph had been able to get it out of her. So, why had they jumped him as he was on his way to the Kraang base? Coincidence? Leo began to think that maybe they thought he and his brothers had taken their sister. This was only half true. Yes, they'd taken her, but not in the way they probably thought. After that, she'd stayed with them voluntarily. She was free to leave whenever she wanted. She just decided not to. He flinched slightly as they jerked him to a halt and yanked the hood off. He blinked fiercely as his eyes adjusted to the sudden harsh light. What Leo saw made his blood run cold, his skin prickle, sent a chill down his back and made him wish they hadn't taken the hood off. Before them stood three Kraang droids. He flinched again as Jezra's eldest brother (he was too stunned to think of his name), began talking loudly and angrily, right next to Leo's ear. He was speaking in rapid Romanian so Leo had absolutely no idea what was being said. But he didn't have to know. His tone made it obvious that he was pretty damn pissed and ready to start raising some hell.

"The one known as the twin of the one known as Jezra must speak the language known as, English." One said, obviously the leader. The twin growled, seething with visible rage and pure hatred for them.

"My name's Torrak. You scum'd do well to remember it, 'cause I'll be the last thing you see before you bleed out into the pavement. Now, where's my sister!?" he said, the rage and hatred burning in his eyes. Leo stiffened at the mention of Jezra, realizing why he was brought here. The Kraang took an involuntary step back. Leo couldn't help but hold back a smirk. Raph could take some lessons from this guy on channeling and controlling his anger.

"The one known as the turtled comes what is known as first." The leader replied, taking a step back forward. Torrak glared at him, obviously knowing he had no other choice available. Leo watched as Torrak let him go and roughly shoved him towards the Kraang, making him stumble in his bonds. He was instantly taken by the other two Kraang who quickly locked his hands in a pure white cylinder, kind of like those futuristic handcuffs he often saw on Space Heroes. He was then half dragged down the hall to a holding cell where he was thrust in before the doors closed and locked behind him. As they did, his new handcuffs dropped off and landed on the floor beneath him. He realized the room was sound proof. He gazed around and sighed. His mind was in complete turmoil. He went over to the back wall and slumped to the floor. He had a lot to sort out, but before that he had to get out of his rope bonds. They were starting to burn into his skin, leaving rope burns that stung like fire. His katana's had been taken away, probably in whatever they'd used to bring him to the Kraang. He felt a sudden sharp pain in his side and he turned to look. He was more than a little surprised to find the hilt of a light throwing knife sticking up. He took it out of his belt and began to cut away at his bonds. Not that he'd be able to run or anything, but at least he'd be able to move when the others came. He smiled slightly. At least one of Jezra's brothers was on his side.

Torrak glared at the remaining Kraang as the mutant was dragged away.

"Now, where's out sister?" he growled.

"The one known as Jezra is what is known as, not here." The leader said.

"WHAT!" Torrak roared, clenching his fists. His reaction was so sudden and so fierce, that the Kraang actually took another step back. Torrak had known that this may've been a trick, but he realized that there'd been a part of him that'd hoped that maybe, just maybe, his sister would be here so they could stop searching for her and he could know that she was alright. Finally, one Kraang got the courage to step forward. It wasn't the leader. _No surprise there,_ he thought. He watched as the Kraang quickly summoned others who swiftly surround Torrak and his brothers. Torrak whirled around, slamming his way through, back the way they'd come, his brothers following in his wake. As they turned the corner, Riley slipped the bomb out of his hoodie, quietly slamming it onto the wall, ready to go off in ten minutes and send a signal to the other bombs they set up along the way. It would bring the whole building crashing down on the filthy scum. Then, they continued slowly on with plenty of time to get out. Torrak didn't notice as Riley fingered the empty place on his belt of knives where his favorite light weight throwing knife had been. It had been his dad's and had served him well before doing the same to Riley when it was passed onto him. He hoped it would help the turtle as well. It would also send an important message to his sister as well as give her a bit of support. Whatever happened, he would take his sister's side in it. After all, isn't that what he always did for her?


	12. Chapter 11

As they finally reached the building, Jezra reluctantly slipped her hand from Raph's. She passed Donnie and Mikey, taking in the building with her keen tactician's eye. She sighted a perfect entry point and smiled.

"Boom." She said to herself. She pointed it out and Raph followed her pointing finger.

"Don't you think someone should stay out here and watch you're back?" he asked. Jezra smirked.

"Not chickening out are you?" she teased. He couldn't help but smile.

"No, but someone needs to divert their attention." He said. Jezra nodded.

"I see your point. Alright, I'll go in. You guys try to keep them busy. It shouldn't take me long." She said. With that, she swiftly scaled the wall up to the vent she'd found, about 3 yards up and broke in, disappearing inside. Raph sighed inwardly. He wanted to go with her, but he knew she could take care of herself. He opened his mouth to tell his brothers to spread out when the front entrance of the building burst open to reveal a horde of Kraang, armed and ready. As Raph smoothly brought out his sais, he glanced at his brothers.

"Well, so much for a silent approach." He said, charging the Kraang with his brothers.

Meanwhile, Jezra was traversing her way quickly through the air vents on her hands and knees. She had no idea where Leo was, but she decided to follow her tactician's instinct and logic. Both were telling her to head to the middle of the building. The middle was one of the best places to keep a prisoner. They were surrounded by their enemies and anyone trying to rescue them would have to go through the dense enemy territory and somehow manage to get back out without being overrun or exposed. Virtually impossible, unless you were a Mikkelson. They had their ways. If something needed getting done, they were the ones for it. It didn't take her too long to reach the middle. She closed her eyes and listened for any clue as to where Leo's cell was. After a few seconds of sitting there, a loud grunt carried through the vent. She smiled and followed it back to the vent it came from, not that far from her. Leo was reaching up to the vent, trying to pry it loose with something, but Jezra couldn't see what.

"Leo!" she hissed. His head shot up and he squinted, trying to get a view of her through the slits of the vent.

"Jezra?" he asked.

"Yeah. Back away so I can kick this thing open." She said, waiting as he headed over to the wall. She laid back and slammed her feet into the vent door with all the strength of her lower body. The vent door went flying across the room, slamming into the opposite wall and bouncing off to fall with a clang to the floor.

"I swear they just get dumber and dumber. That, or they're just plain cheap." She said, hopping down and brushing off her jeans. Leo smiled and walked over.

"Ready to go jailbird?" she asked. He rolled his eyes.

"Sure." He said.

"What's that?" Jezra asked, her voice a little shaky, pointing at the throwing knife Leo held in his hand.

"I got it from one of the guys who captured me. I'm pretty sure they were your brothers." He said, handing the knife to her. She took it in slightly shaky hands and looked it over.

"Riley." She murmured.

"They think the Kraang have you. Although, by now they probably know the Kraang were lying to them." Leo said. Jezra sighed, shaking her head.

"Alright then, we should probably get going. Listen Leo, I'd prefer to keep this between you and me. For as long as possible. There're some things I need to figure out for myself here. Starting with what's the deal with my brothers. Kidnapping people just isn't their style." She said.

"My lips are sealed." He said. She smiled thanks to him.

"I appreciate it. What do you say we blow this joint?" she said. He smiled.

"Thought you'd never ask." He replied. She smiled and jumped up at the bottom of the vent opening, pulling herself up and rolling as she entered. She turned around and lowered her hand to help Leo up. As soon as he'd been pulled up, Jezra turned and led him back through the vents towards the outside, her little brother's knife stashed through her belt.

Back outside, Raph and his two brothers were still fighting off the never ending horde of Kraang. As he stabbed another Kraang through the head, he gazed around, searching for any sign of Jezra and Leo. If they didn't leave soon, they'd be overrun. He found himself a little surprised at this thought. Before, he would've been more stubborn to stay. It would be a sign of weakness to run. He remembered a conversation he'd had a few weeks ago with Jezra. They'd been sitting alone in the kitchen, just talking as he fed Spike. Raph and his brothers had just been in a fight with some Kraang and they'd had to retreat. He was still smarting from this and so he'd come to Jezra. Something about her always helped him calm down. He was going on about how they could've won if Leo hadn't chickened out and Jezra was simply listening, a distant look in her eyes, probably thinking of her brothers and a similar situation with them. Finally, he stopped talking and Jezra smiled at him.

_"You have no idea how many times I've been in your shoes. My dad used to tell me that retreating can be a sign of weakness. However, a strong leader and a seasoned tactician knows when to retreat until better odds and when to stand and fight."_ She'd said with a hint of sadness as well as pride in her voice. That had stuck with Raph and it all came rushing back to him now. He shook his head as he slammed his sai deep in another Kraang head. He wasn't entirely sure if it was what she had said or just that Jezra had said it that had changed his point of view. He decided not to dwell on it.

"Jezra, hurry." He muttered. He was tiring and he could tell his brothers were too. They'd soon be overrun and they all knew it.

Torrak watched the three mutants fight the Kraang from his position on a roof across the street. Riley had said they had about three more minutes before the building blew. He smiled slightly. The Kraang would pay for lying to him. The smile slowly faded. He wasn't any step closer to finding his twin. If anything, he was back to square one with no lead to follow. He was starting to think that maybe she really was gone for good. He shook his head angrily. No, she was out there, he could feel it. Call it that twin sense. He didn't know where she was or why she hadn't come back yet, but his sister always had been a bit of a puzzle. She had her reasons and they were always good ones. She'd come back when she felt the time was right. He just wished she'd hurry up. Without her, it felt like a piece of him was missing. He needed her back or he'd go insane.


	13. Chapter 12

Jezra could already see the opening of the vent that led to the outside, moonlight reflecting off the gleaming metal. She was surprised at how late it was. It had to be right around midnight right now. She looked back over her shoulder at Leo who gave her a smile of encouragement. She returned the smile and turned back to her path. She reached the opening and stuck her legs out, dangling them against the wall. She looked down at Raph and the others fighting. Leo looked over her shoulder.

"Ready?" he asked. She nodded and launched herself off, hitting the pavement and instantly rolling to the side and back onto her feet as Leo followed suite. The two quickly made their way to Raph and the others, slashing their way through the mass of Kraang. When she reached his side, Raph turned to her and gave her a weary smile.

"Took you long enough." He said. She laughed, watching Leo clear a path through the Kraang towards the other side of the street.

"Come on, let's get going!" Leo yelled. Mikey and Donnie quickly moved after him. Jezra and Raph turned in unison to follow after them.

They were the closest when the building blew.

Jezra felt a searing wave of heat slam into them, bringing them to the pavement as blazing shrapnel shot past. She felt something heavy cover her and instantly knew it was Raph, attempting to shield her with his body, his hard shell taking virtually all the hits. The blast lasted little more than five seconds. As soon as it was over, Raph carefully rolled off of her. He turned his head and smiled weakly at her and she smiled back, the affection evident on her face. Despite their ears ringing, they could just barely hear the others yelling their names. Raph gingerly picked himself up and Jezra followed suite. Suddenly, Raph's legs collapsed on him and Jezra quickly caught him. Then, with Raph leaning heavily on her, Jezra led him slowly over to the others, her eyes wandering to the destruction around them.

It was then she saw a piece of the bomb.

She was a little amazed that it had been blown out this far. However, that's not what caused her stride to falter as her eyes caught sight of it. It was only a small piece and not all the letters were visible, but Jezra knew exactly what it said.

TJAR.

A brown T, a grey J, a red A and a dark orange R.

A signature.

HER signature.

HER bomb.

T for Torrak, J for Jezra, A for Alec and R for Riley. Her brothers had blown the base? Her mind was in complete turmoil by the time they reached the others. Leo quickly led them to a manhole and they all dropped in, headed back to the lair was fast as the sewers allowed.

Torrak stood motionless, completely speechless. His sister was here? His mind was racing with all sorts of reasons she would be here. None made sense, but one thing he was sure of; those mutants had her, possibly with no intention of letting her go. He hadn't seen them enter the sewers because of all the smoke. He turned and headed for home. He needed a plan. A damn good one and he needed it fast.


	14. Chapter 13

It had been almost a full week since the bomb blast and everything else that night. Jezra had drawn into herself, not speaking a word since. Not even Raph could manage to get her to so much as smile. The brothers rarely saw her except for the few moments she left her 'room' for something to eat or drink. Donnie had gone back to the base and gathered all the shrapnel of the bomb itself and had been working on piecing it back together. So far, he'd had no success. Raph was steadily recovering from a piece of shrapnel that had been buried in the back of his left leg via the bomb blast. He spent a lot of his time simply trying to keep his weight off it. Everyone could tell he was a little depressed about Jezra's subtle refusal to speak to anyone, even him.

At the moment, the turtles were all in Donnie's workshop, watching as he attempted-yet again-to rebuild the bomb. Raph sat on a stool beside him, his leg propped up on a shelf beneath the tabletop while Leo stood on Donnie's other side and Mikey stood next to Raph. Donnie'd finally managed to fully rebuild the bomb. Well, not exactly fully. There was one piece that didn't make much sense to him and he couldn't figure out where it went. It was a long, thin piece of wire-most likely copper-badly charred. He sighed and set the wire back on the table for maybe the fifteenth time.

"Well, there goes that. I don't suppose any of you know what the wire does?" he said. His brothers all gave him blank looks.

"Didn't think so." He sighed.

"It's the ignition wire." A voice said from the doorway.

One no one had heard in days.

One Raph was dying to hear.

"Jezra?" they all said in unison as they turned to her. She smiled.

"The one and only." She said. All her hair was hanging over her right shoulder, her bangs slightly covering her right eye. She wasn't wearing her jean jacket so they could clearly see her almost fully healed scar across her upper right arm from when they'd found her. For the first time, the turtles realized she had a tattoo on the left side of her chest, over her heart. Raph wondered how they'd never seen it before. Even from where the guys stood they could tell what it was. It was the head of a jet black jaguar; its jaws wide open in a massive roar. Raph wondered if Jezra would tell him about it if he asked. Jezra headed over to them, her bare feet making no sound on the cold, cement floor. Donnie was the first to speak.

"How do you know?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Easy. My bomb." She said. The others were more than a little shocked.

"What?" Raph asked, a little louder than he intended. She smiled at him and went to him, leaning against the table beside Mikey.

"Yup, although that's one of my older models, at least three or four years old. I haven't made one in forever. Whoever built the bomb must've taken the blueprints from my box near my bed. Last time I used this particular model was on a warehouse over in Boston about three and a half years ago." She said. Raph didn't bother asking about the Boston warehouse she'd blown. He had a good idea why that happened. He was also a little less confused about the blueprint box than his brothers were. From everything Jezra'd ever told him, it was obvious only her brothers would be able to get to her workshop where she also slept.

"So, do you think you can rebuild it then?" Donnie asked. Jezra snorted derisively.

"Can I rebuild it? Course I can! I'm the one who built it in the first place. The blueprints are burned into my memory. Just give me about an hour and leave Raph here with me and you'll have your bomb in no time!" she answered. Raph didn't know why she needed him, but he found he didn't much care. It was Jezra after all.

His brothers nodded and left, leaving the two alone. Jezra turned and smiled at him.

"Sorry for becoming a little anti-social the last couple of days. I had a lot to sort through." Jezra said.

"A 'little' anti-social? Are you kidding me? You pretty much lived in your own little world. More like a lot anti-social." He snorted, grinning mischievously. Jezra laughed.

"OK, OK! Point taken! I'm just trying to apologize here." She laughed. Raph smiled. It was good to hear her voice and see her smile and laugh. Jezra smiled again at him.

"Alright then! Let's build ourselves a bomb!" Raph said, cracking his knuckles. Jezra chuckled.

"Ok then, tip dur." She said, a note of affection in her voice and began to take apart Donnie's attempt.

* * *

**Vocab (Even though it's appeared before)**

_**Tip**_** _dur_- Tough guy**


	15. Chapter 14

It took them a lot less than an hour to rebuild the bomb. Jezra sketched a plan of how the bomb was supposed to look. Using that, they wasted no time rebuilding the bomb. When it was finished, they sat back and took a good look at their handy work. Raph turned and looked at Jezra, sighting the jaguar head tattoo on her chest again. Jezra followed his gaze to the tattoo. She gave a sad little smile.

"My dad did that for me when I was fourteen." She said.

"Does it mean anything?" he asked. Jezra hesitated. Would he believe her? Course he would. She could show him. Would he still accept her though? Now that was the million dollar question. When she thought about it though, he was a mutant so he would obviously accept her for it.

"It stands for my animal shift. Me and my brothers are shape shifters. Well, almost. Each of us has only one shift. Mine's a jaguar." She said. Raph gave her a look like he thought she was playing with him. She sighed.

"I'll prove it." She said, standing up. She backed up a few feet, Raph watching her curiously. Jezra took a deep breath, closing her eyes and concentrating on a mental image of a lithe jaguar. Then she began to shift; glossy black fur began to ripple across her light tan skin as her arms and legs thickened, her hands and feet becoming massive black paws as she dropped to all fours. Her head soon became a silky jaguar head. A long black tail slowly weaved itself out. And suddenly, Raph was staring wide eyed at a large, sleek, jet black jaguar standing in the middle of the room. He gave a low whistle of astonishment. The jaguar grinned at him, more like a snarl than a grin.

"Told ya." It growled before shifting slowly back into Jezra. She walked back over and sat down on her stool next to him.

"And your brothers can do that too?" he asked. She nodded.

"Pretty much." She replied. Raph gave another whistle and she smiled at him.

"So, do you know why?" he asked. Jezra shrugged.

"Not really. Honestly, we were more interested in the fact that we could shift than why we could. But, I did ask my dad once. He said it had something to do with being exposed to mutagen. Instead of mutating his entire appearance, he was able to shift. Somehow, that ability passed down to us. But, the one downside is that some of our animalistic traits remain while we're human. For example, right now I can smell Mikey's pizza from the kitchen and I can hear him moving around in there, talking to Leo and Donnie. So, it's not entirely bad. They've actually saved my life a few times. Sad thing is, they come and go as they please, although the smelling is always there. The hearing and jaguar eyesight come and go. I can't ever keep them for as long as I want, but they seem to come when I need them." She said. Raph smiled. Then a thought hit him and it slowly faded. Jezra noticed instantly.

"What?" she asked. Raph opened his mouth to speak then closed it again, hesitating. He didn't wanna burn down any chances he had with her by asking a question this personal. He made his decision quickly.

"You never talk about him." He said, realizing it was more of a statement than an actual question. It took Jezra a second to realize who he was talking about. Her face fell and Raph thought maybe he'd crossed the line and she wouldn't speak to him. He wasn't sure he could live with himself if that ever happened. It took Jezra a few seconds to answer.

"What's there to tell? He was the greatest dad I could've ever asked for. He was my best friend." She replied. But there was one question Raph really wanted to know the answer to.

"What happened to him?" he asked. She sighed.

"He was killed." She said.

"By who?" he asked. He could see the war of emotions evident on her face; anger, frustration, fear, guilt, sadness. All passed over her face in a matter of seconds as she struggled to answer.

"Jezra? Who killed your dad?" he asked gently. Tears were running freely down her face now as she finally answered.

"The Kraang. They murdered my father."


	16. Chapter 15

There was a long silence between them. Raph could see that, for some reason, Jezra blamed herself for her father's death. Finally, he broke the silence.

"Jez, I'm sure you did everything you could to save him." He said.

"Did I? I could've fought them off better, but I didn't." she answered, an edge to her voice, but Raph could tell that Jezra was struggling between it being her fault and it being the Kraang's fault.

"So, how'd he die? It's ok if you don't wanna talk about it." Raph said. Jezra sighed and shook her head.

"No. No, I need to tell somebody." She replied. Raph nodded and waited. Jezra took a deep breath and began her story.

"Well, I should probably start from the very beginning. My dad was born and raised in Romania. His dad was from America, so he knew both English and Romanian. My mom was from America. She went to Romania to go to a university when she was around twenty three. My dad was going to the same school. They met about a month later and started dating within the next few months. They both graduated about three years later. On the day of graduation, my dad proposed to her. They were married a few months after and were together for about two years before me and Torrak came along.

"Shortly after Riley was born, my mom was killed in a car crash. She always wanted us to move back to the states someday. My dad wanted her to be buried in her home country, so he managed to scrape up enough money to send her home. It took him a while, but he finally managed to get enough money for us to move into the states and become citizens. So, the first five years of my life were spent in my homeland and the rest were here in New York City. My dad trained me and my brothers and brought us up as fighters. Everything we know, our dad taught us, drilling every lesson into our heads a thousand times over until it stuck." Raph could tell by the look on her face, that she was reaching the part of the story that she was dreading. He gently took her hand in his and squeezed it. She clutched onto his hand was if it was the only thing keeping her from being swept away by her emotions. Jezra took a deep breath before continuing, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

"I was fourteen. Me and my dad were out training. We were joking and laughing as usual, making our way to the training area he'd set up for that day. They didn't catch us until the middle of training. Sick bastards were probably waiting for us to tire ourselves out." She trailed off after that. She thought back to that day, her father's deep laugh echoing off the abandoned warehouses as she bounded ahead through the light coating of snow that covered the pavement, easily traversing the thin patches of ice like her dad had taught her.

_They were talking about an incident that morning at breakfast between Riley and Alec. It hadn't taken them long to reach the training area and begin to train. They'd been at it for almost a full hour, switching constantly between hand to hand combat and long range combat, firing snowballs at each other in exchange of bullets, when they were attacked. They'd been in the middle of a long rang combat of archery, using cloth pointed sticks, when her father's face had contorted into an expression of fear and anger. Jezra had whirled around on an impulse to her left side, slamming the back of her hand into the face of whatever was behind her. She cried out as she felt bone shatter, consequence of her unprotected hand meeting pure metal with all of her strength. Her hand had never healed properly and she had a permanently twisted grip on that hand. Then, her dad had jumped in, slamming his broadsword down through the head of the Kraang. This had been Jezra's first encounter with the aliens and also the one that fueled her hate for them._

_"Keep away from her!" her father roared, swinging his sword at any who dare to come near his daughter. Jezra remembered feeling shock as well as a bit of fear mixed with anger. These were one of the things her father had raised her and her siblings to fight. Them and serial killers. Also, according to her dad, they were the ones who'd caused her mother's car accident. They'd killed her mother back home in Romania. Jezra had pulled out her blades then and bolted past her father, slashing out at her foes, rage giving strength to her blows as she dodged slashes and jabs, her father keeping pace. Out of all the attacks, she only recalled two hitting her. The one that had left the scar down the side of her face and one on the side of her leg that even her brothers didn't remember. At some point, her dad became separated from her. She remembered a massive cry of pain, whirling around to find her father dropping to the ground, hands clasped around the base of a blade protruding from his stomach, blood beginning to bubble up between his fingers. Everything seemed to slow down then._

_"DAD!" she screamed, running to him as he hit the pavement. She dropped to the ground beside him, taking his head and resting it in her lap, tears streaming down her face. Her dad reached up with a shaky, blood covered hand and she grasped it in both of hers, ignoring the pain as her broken hand made close contact._

_"It's ok Baby-Girl. You gotta be strong. Help Torrak with your brothers. He may be the leader, but he doesn't have half the brains you do. That's how it's always been. Mikkelson women have always been brighter and braver than their male relatives." He said, giving a little chuckle that turned into a hacking cough. Jezra choked back a sob and nodded._

_"I will. I love you daddy." She said, clutching his hand tighter as he began to slip away, ignoring the searing pain in her broken hand and the blood running from the side of her face and her leg. Her dad smiled weakly, struggling to keep his eyes open. He wanted his daughter to be the last thing he saw._

_"I love you too sweetheart. You look so much like your mother. Every time I look at you, I catch a glimpse of the strong woman you'll grow up to be. Never lose hope; remember, no matter how impossible something seems, there is always a way." He said. She nodded, a huge lump forming in her throat, unable to say anything. Her dad took one last, shuddering breath. Jezra watched the life fade out of her father. She let everything out then. Her body was racked by massive sobs as her dad lay in the snow that was now bright red with his blood. Jezra didn't even realize that all the Kraang had left. They had done what they needed to do._

"Jezra?" Raph's voice cut through the fog of her memories, bringing her back to reality. She felt hot tears still tracing their way down her face, silently dropping in her lap and on Raph's hand, still holding hers. She realized she was tracing her scar with her other hand. She smiled at him as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. She took a deep breath and explained to him how her father had died; leaving out those private words of reassurance he'd given her. She pointed out her three injuries from the battle, simply pointing to the spot on her leg were the scar was. Raph had obviously never noticed her slightly disfigured hand. When she'd finished, he smiled gently at her. She smiled back, glad to have been able to tell someone other than her brothers about what had happened. Then a thought hit Raph.

"Wait, so if your dad gave you that tattoo when you were fourteen and he died the same year, how far apart were they?" he asked.

"My dad made my tattoo not even two days before he died. It's kinda the last thing I have of him." She replied. He nodded. There was a long silence between them. Then Raph smiled.

"You know, we should probably go tell them that we finished the bomb. We've been in here for a while. They might start getting ideas." He said. She laughed.

"I don't see any problem with that." She said, standing up, still holding Raph's hand. He couldn't keep a smile from spreading across his face as he stood up and walked with her to the door of the workshop, still holding hands. Jezra opened the door and they walked into the main part of the lair.

* * *

**So, this is kind of sappy, and not of the greatest quality. This was the chapter that I had the most trouble with; recreating her father's death. Please, please give me your opinions!**


	17. Chapter 16

Leo, Donnie and Mikey were all sitting in the T.V. area, Mikey in a beanbag chair, reading a comic and eating a slice of pizza. Donnie sat on the bench on his laptop while Leo watched over his shoulder. It was a news clip about the building they'd blown up yesterday. Well, they hadn't exactly blown it. So far, nothing pointed to them or any Kraang.

"Bomb's done." A voice said from behind. No one had noticed Jezra and Raph walk up. They all turned, noticing the two were holding hands. No one said anything, but the three of them exchanged a grin.

"What bomb?" they all turned to see Splinter walking slowly up. Of course, he knew about them bringing back the bomb shrapnel. However, he hadn't been notified about the reconstruction of the bomb.

"Jezra rebuilt the bomb." Mikey said, still engrossed in his comic. Splinter's gaze hardened slightly as it switched over to Jezra and Raph, briefly resting on their hands and….had that been a slight smile? Jezra couldn't tell. As soon as it was there, it was gone. Raph gently squeezed her hand, giving her some reassurance as he glared at an oblivious Mikey. Jezra held back a smile as she gazed steadily at Splinter.

"It's a dud. I only rebuilt using the pieces I was given and that didn't include the dynamite." She said.

"So, can we go look at it now?" Leo asked. Jezra nodded and led them all to the workshop, Raph still at her side, her hand in his. Raph was trying not to smile too much because of this. They all entered the workshop and gathered around the bomb, Raph and Jezra sitting on the two stools, Master Splinter standing behind them and the others standing to the sides. The bomb looked brand new, as if it had never blown up a building.

"Technically, it's not completed. This is basically just the container. It'll also spread shrapnel when detonated to cause more casualties. That's why I stopped making them. This is basically a last resort bomb. Anyways, to level a building with this old baby, you need to have at least twenty others scattered through the building. The others consist of a literal burner cell and three sticks of upgraded dynamite. When the signal goes out from the main one, this one that we have, all the others respond and light the charge simultaneously with this one. Then…"

"Boom." Raph said. Jezra nodded.

"So, how do you know about this bomb again?" Donnie asked. Raph glared at him, growling slightly. Jezra squeezed his hand and he stopped, giving Donnie one final death glare before turning back to Jezra.

"Because it's my bomb. It's one of my older models, but it's still mine. I created this one. I keep some older models around, just in case of emergencies and sorta like memoirs or trophies. My dad used to do the same thing. I have all the blueprints stored in a lock-box under my bed back home. They must've grabbed this model from the case of old bombs. The last time we used this model was on a warehouse over in Boston about three and a half years ago. That's when I decided this model was too dangerous and started working on a safer model." She said.

"So, does this mean your brothers blew up the Kraang?" Leo asked. Jezra hesitated a moment then sighed and nodded slowly. Leo already knew her brothers had done it, but he felt the others should know too. However, he wouldn't tell them about Jezra's brothers kidnapping him. That was just between them. He'd promised. He wondered if Raph knew. Maybe.

"Wait. What were your brothers doing there in the first place?" Donnie asked. Jezra cringed visibly and Raph glared at him.

"Who cares? They blew the place for us and that's good enough for me." He growled.

"And wounded you in the process." Jezra said quietly. Raph turned to her, his ice cold stare softening. Until she'd mentioned it, Raph hadn't really paid much attention to his leg. He squeezed her hand.

"They couldn't have known. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time." He replied. She looked at him and he smiled reassuringly. She gave him a small smile of gratitude before turning back to the others.

"So, now that ya'll know about the bomb, anything new we need to take care of?" she asked. Everyone turned to Donnie who shook his head.

"Nothing's come up that I know of." He said. Five pairs of eyes swiveled over to Splinter.

"I think a few bouts of training will be enough for today." He said. Everyone nodded. Raph turned to Jezra quizzically. She smiled at him.

"I think I'll join in this time. Overall winner?" she asked. The others all nodded, content with this arrangement. Raph nodded in satisfaction. Jezra and Raph followed the others to the Dojo, still holding hands. As they reached the doorway, Jezra reluctantly slipped her hand out of his and sat against the wall to watch and wait her turn.

Jezra crouched in the middle of the floor, slowly twirling her two double bladed mithrodins skillfully between her hands, staring down Leo who crouched with his two katanas across from her. Raph had been taken out in his first bout with Leo due to his injured leg. It kept him from moving too quickly and on one occasion stiffened up on him. That, and he wanted to see his brother get whipped by Jezra. She was good. Better than Raph. Definitely better than Leo. She could probably best Splinter if she wanted to. Well, okay, maybe that was exaggerating. But not by much.

Leo had beaten his other brothers as well and was now facing off to Jezra. He had never seen her in action before; even back at the Kraang base he hadn't been able to catch a glimpse of her. He didn't know how she had been trained to fight. Definitely a challenge. They both waited for Splinter to say they could begin.

"Hajime!"

Jezra moved first. She raced at Leo without warning, with such speed that he didn't register he was under attack until he felt the dull side of her weapons slamming into his back, Jezra in her turn using his shell to push off of and jump away before he could retaliate. Leo fell forward, rolling back onto his feet and whirling to face her. She smiled teasingly at him, standing calmly and casually twirling her mithrodins. Leo looked to his brothers. Raph was grinning knowingly while Donnie and Mikey looked just as stunned as Leo felt. He turned back to Jezra. She was gone! He felt something sweep his legs out from under him and he crashed to the ground for a second time. Jezra walked around him, her double bladed mithrodins were back in their sheaths. Apparently, she had decided she could take him without her blades. Leo was starting to think the same. He sheathed his katanas and brought his fists up. Jezra smiled at him. Then, she was moving again. Damn, she was fast! She moved with the speed of a cobra and struck just as hard and quickly. She would move into his defense and rain down a rapid succession of lighting fast blows then nimbly leap away before he could retaliate. She was good! Before he knew it, he was on his back again, staring up at Jezra who smiled sweetly down at him.

"Nice try, Leo. But, while you were training as a ninja, I was being trained to catch killers." Leo became confused. Catch killers? What was she talking about? He looked to his brothers. They looked just as confused as him; except Raph. Of course, Raph had to already know. He did look a little smug though. Apparently, there was more to the story than that. He looked to Splinter who was just as passive as ever. He realized Jezra was holding out her hand to him. He took it and let her help him up. She smiled at him and he returned the smile before heading over to his brothers. Jezra turned to Splinter.

"Was that all you had planned?" she asked respectively, wondering if there was more training. Splinter nodded and Jezra smiled a thanks to him and walked out. Raph followed after her. Jezra waited for him out in the lair. When he reached her, she took his hand and smiled.

"There's something I wanna show you." She said, leading him off, headed to the surface. Raph smiled as he followed at her side, wondering where they were going.


	18. Chapter 17

Once on the surface, Jezra led Raph through countless alleys until they reached an old park. Jezra easily vaulted the chest high fence and waited for Raph on the other side. Once he had joined her, she took his hand and led him through the huge, unkempt park, heading for the middle where Raph could see a cluster of trees. Raph stayed at Jezra's side, wondering what it was she wanted to show him. After a while, she stopped at the clump of trees which Raph could now tell as willows. Their branches were so thick, he couldn't see past. The grove was massive, seeming to circle something large.

"Raph you have to promise me you'll never speak of this to anyone. This is my private place. Not even my brothers know about it." She said. He smiled at her.

"Do you even have to ask? My lips are sealed." He said. She smiled at him and squeezed his hand before brushing back the branches and leading him through. They stood on a grassy outcrop overlooking a crystal clear, smallish lake, the full moon reflecting off its glassy surface. A massive boulder rested in the middle of the lake, rising like a giant out of the water. A small bridge led from the shore to the boulder.

Jezra led Raph down the slope and to the bridge. She let go of his hand and swiftly made her way across the bridge, causing it to swing slightly, and climbed up onto the boulder. She gestured for Raph to follow. As soon as he was on top of the boulder, she covered his eyes with one hand and took his hand in her other. She sat down slowly, guiding him carefully until they were sitting side by side, Jezra on his left. She removed her hand from his eyes, but still held his hand in hers. They were sitting in a small bowl in the top of the boulder, leaning back against the edges with the bridge behind and below them. He gazed around and smiled. There were no lights near them so the night sky was clearly visible, blanketed with bright stars and the full moon, bathing them in its luminous light. He could see the tops of buildings far away from them. It felt like he was in a completely different world. Jezra nuzzled closer to him, resting her head against his chest. On an impulse, Raph wrapped his left arm around her waist and rested his hand on her arm. He tried to control his racing heartbeat as Jezra shifted to lay on her side, still resting her head on his chest, wrapping her bottom arm against his shoulder, hand upon his shoulder. She slid her other arm to go alongside his and slipped her hand into his, moving his hand to her hip. Raph had never felt so close to anyone before. He still found it a little hard to believe that he was falling in love. This moment confirmed it. He was definitely in love. He knew Jezra was too. He had an urge to kiss her, but he didn't want to force anything on her. No sense scaring her off. They sat there for a long time, drinking in the night sky, the distant city lights and each other. Finally, Jezra broke the silence.

"My father brought me here when I was nine. It was dirty and overgrown and the bridge wasn't there. We spent weeks working on cleaning it up; picking up the trash, cleaning out the water, trimming the undergrowth. We built the bridge together when I was thirteen. After that, we came here occasionally. It was out private hangout. After he," she took a shaky breath, "after he died, I started coming here more often. It was something private that I'd shared with my father. Just me and him." Raph smiled at her.

"It's amazing." He said. She smiled and propped herself up to look at him, her crystal blue eyes shining, her hair falling over her shoulder. She smiled down at him.

"I was thinking, maybe we could make this _our_ private hangout." She said. He smiled.

"I think that'd work." He said.

"But, I think we should probably get back." She said. He sighed as Jezra adjusted his arm higher on her waist.

"I dunno. I kinda like this being alone. He said. She smiled and lowered her face to his, resting her forehead against his. They were so close, Raph could feel her smile, see it in her eyes.

"I do too. Still, we should get back before they start to worry." She said. Raph wasn't convinced.

"They can live without us for a little while longer." He said. She smiled. He could feel it again. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but resisted. He let Jezra stand and pull him up after her. Then, she did something unexpected; she put her face to Raph's again, wrapping her arms around his neck, and kissed him. He was caught off guard, but very happily. On another impulse, Raph wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. Neither of them wanted to end it, but eventually someone had to. After about a minute, Jezra pulled away, resting her forehead on his.

"We really should get back." She said, quietly. Raph sighed.

"You go. I'll catch up soon." He said. Jezra smiled and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"Don't take too long." She said. He smiled and let her go, watching as she hopped down onto the bridge and raced across, disappearing past the willows. He sighed and hopped down, slowly crossing the bridge and making his way up the slope and through the willows. Jezra was nowhere in sight. By now, traversing the sewers came as second nature to her. Raph made his way to some buildings and up onto the rooftops. He stood on the edge, one foot up on the short wall, arms crossed over his leg, unable to keep a smile from spreading across his face.

Maybe he was so distracted with thoughts of Jezra that they managed to sneak up on him. He never really thought about it after.

One minute he's looking out over the city, the next he was being shoved off the rooftop. As he toppled over the edge, he managed to grasp hold of the sill. He pulled himself up until he was able to roll back onto the roof. He jumped to his feet and faced his attacker. He stared wide eyed, more than a little shocked. Before him stood a tall, slightly broad shouldered teenager with a shock of tousled, bright blonde hair with dark brown roots and tips and crystal blue yes. Just like Jezra. But Raph didn't need to see that. He already knew who this was. He'd seen him before in a picture.

Jezra's picture.

Of her family.

"Torrak?"


	19. Chapter 18

\Torrak glared at Raph, eyes full of rage.

"Where's my sister?" he snarled. It was more a wolfish sounding snarl that escaped his lips. Raph wondered if he was seeing another example of animal traits remaining in Jezra's twin, just as she'd said. He glared back.

"What makes you think I know?" he replied. Torrak chuckled dryly.

"Well now, let's see…you were at the Kraang base with my sister. How's that for starters?" he said. Raph sighed inwardly. Of course Torrak had been there, watching them. Apparently, he was starting to piece it together, however wrong he seemed to be thinking the situation was.

"Now, what've you done to my sister?" Torrak growled. Again, Raph was reminded of a wolf. He snorted.

"I haven't done anything to Jezra. I wouldn't dare hurt her." He replied. Torrak snorted.

"Well, I'm afraid we're gonna have to hurt you." He said, lunging at him without warning, swinging his broadsword in a two handed grip. Raph ducked under the attack and rolled clear of him. Torrak stopped and turned on a dime, all in one fluid movement to face him again. Now Raph knew where Jezra got her skills from. Something in Raph's gut told him to duck. Without thinking, he followed the notion, dropping into a crouch as a blue shafted arrow sailed harmlessly over his head and disappeared into the abandoned street below. Raph whirled around as he stood up. Jezra's two younger brothers were advancing on him; Alec with another arrow notched and ready to fire and Riley beside him, twirling two knives skillfully. He looked a little reluctant to attack though. Raph groaned inwardly. One Mikkelson was hard enough. How difficult would three be? Jezra had once told him that she and her brothers did well fighting on their own, but when they fought as a team, things happened a lot quicker. Raph had gotten the feeling she wasn't boasting, but simply telling the honest truth. He was about to find out.

"One last time; where's our sister?" Torrak asked. Raph remained mute. Part of him knew Jezra didn't want to be found yet. The other part simply didn't want her to leave, afraid that, if she did, she would forget about him. It was a foolish and selfish thought and he had to push it aside. No, it was Jezra's choice. If he survived this, he'd tell her she should go back. Torrak sighed then smirked.

"Alright then, looks like we're doin' this the hard way." He said. Raph ducked and rolled to the side again as Torrak swung the massive broadsword at him, stopping it skillfully with the strength of his wrists. He flicked it over his shoulder and into its sheath. Suddenly, Raph's legs were swept roughly out from under him. He landed hard on his back and realized Riley had snuck up on him while he was distracted by Torrak. Jezra had told him that Riley was the sneak of the family, silent as a shadow when called for, unseen unless he wished to be seen. Raph was definitely seeing evidence of their skills, just as Jezra had described them to him.

He rolled to the side as Alec stabbed down at him with his short sword. The blade grazed his shoulder, but he barely felt it. He only felt the warm blood beginning to trickle from his arm. He stood up and glared at Alec. However, he refused to hurt them. They were Jezra's brothers. He would defend himself, but he would not draw blood. He swung to the side as Riley threw a knife at him with blinding speed. It sailed past him harmlessly. His second close call. Or was that his third? He'd already lost track. While Raph was distracted by Riley's attack, Torrak had snuck up from behind. Now, he swung his leg at the back of Raph's knees, hitting the pressure points almost perfectly. Raph's legs collapsed under him and he grunted in pain. He regained his feet painfully and swung out at Torrak, managing to catch him hard in the jaw. Torrak stumbled back a pace. It was time to bring up the heat. He nodded discreetly to his brothers. All three barreled down on Raph, landing blow after blow, forcing him towards the edge of the roof. Raph was too busy blocking blows as best he could to notice where they were heading. The next thing he knew, he was lying on his back on the edge of the rooftop, looking up at Jezra's three brothers. He didn't even remember his legs getting swept out again. Torrak sighed.

"I really am sorry about this." And with that, all three grabbed him and shoved him over the edge.


	20. Chapter 19

Luckily, there was a pile of trash bags to break his fall a little. As he landed heavily in the heap, something hard cracked against his skull. His vision blurred, but he remained conscious, if slightly light headed. As his vision began to clear, Torrak and his brothers dropped down to the pavement, ready to finish the job.

"STOP!"

The voice of Mikey rang out as he ran up, heading straight to Raph, standing over his fallen brother. He glared at Torrak and his brothers.

"Raph, you ok?" he asked. Raph smiled up at him, still a little dazed.

"Never better." He replied, his words were slurred and he had a slight note of sarcasm in his voice. Mikey smiled with relief before turning back to Torrak. He squinted his eyes slightly, something about Torrak catching his eye.

"Don't I know you from somewhere?" he asked.

"Mikey, he's Jezra's twin. These are her brothers." Raph said. Mikey took a longer look at Torrak, trying to make the connection. Raph couldn't hide a small grin.

"Mikey, just take my word for it." He said. Mikey shrugged.

"I can go grab Jez if you want." Mikey said. Raph shook his head.

"I think it'd be better if we just took them to her." Raph replied. Mikey nodded and helped his brother up. With Raph leaning on him, Mikey headed to the open manhole he had just come out of. He helped Raph down and then turned back to Torrak and his brothers who hadn't moved.

"Well? What're you waitin' for?" Mikey asked before dropping into the sewers. The three brothers looked at each other, quickly coming to a silent agreement. Torrak led the way to the manhole, dropping in with Alec right behind, Riley last, replacing the manhole behind him and following the others. Mikey led the way, Raph leaning on his younger brother, limping with each step. Riley watched them, noting the mutant's wounds, including an old one on the back of his left leg that seemed to have slightly reopened, trickling blood down his calf.

When they reached the lair, Jezra's brothers gazed around, eyes probing for their missing sibling.

"Yo Leo! Need a little help over here!" Mikey yelled. Riley watched as another masked mutant, this one masked in blue, appeared from a doorway and rushed over, another one, masked in purple, following close behind.

"Jez! May wanna get out here!" Leo called back towards the blanketed off area. He was obviously the leader of the mutants. One of the blankets moved aside and out stepped Jezra, tall and strong looking. She wasn't wearing her jean jacket so they could all clearly see her tattoo and the latest scar across her arm. She was barefoot. Jezra took one look at them all and jumped down from the ledge, racing over. She quickly checked Raph over, ticking of the herbs and other supplies she'd need.

"Leo, could you get me a pot of boiling water? Donnie, I need some linen and that herb salve I showed you. Do you have any made right now?" she asked. The purple masked mutant nodded.

"There's some on my worktable. I just finished making it." He replied.

"Perfect." She said as the two ran off, Leo to get the water and Donnie to prepare a working space and supplies for Jezra's use.

"Je-"

"No," she cut Torrak off, not looking at him, "Just don't. I can't believe you Torrak! What the hell were you thinking?! Attacking someone without good reason? Especially that it was someone I care about! I'm sorry Torrak, but I just can't speak to you right now. I gotta fix your mess." She glared at him then, a slight hint of tears in her eyes. She whirled around on her heels and took Raph from Mikey. She rested her head against Raph's who did the same, and led him towards the doorway the ones called Leo and Donnie had come out of earlier and where Donnie had disappeared to again.

Torrak watched her go, a deep sadness spreading through him. He didn't go after her; he'd done this before and he knew there was nothing he could do or say to make it right. His twin would come around when she felt like it, not by being shoved that way. He'd seen the way Jezra had acted toward and about the red masked mutant called Raph. He was more than a little confused about that. Not that she was with a mutant, not to say that was slightly off the mark of 'normal'. Jezra didn't fall in love for looks. She'd always known better than that. She was drawn by character. So, what part of this mutant's personality had pulled in his twin? He sighed. The orange masked mutant-What had they called him? Mikey-smiled at them.

"I guess that means we all wait here." He said. He went and sat at the TV, turning it on. Riley went and sat next to him. Torrak and Alec exchanged a look. Alec shrugged and went to sit with them. Torrak sighed again and sat down on the floor, his feet on the bench of the TV area. He rubbed his temples, trying to think through everything. His thoughts were scrambled and he needed to get them in order.


	21. Chapter 20

**Here's the final chapter. The next book is called A Brother Lost and centers on Leo. Don't worry, we'll come back to visit Raph and Jezra soon. Also, A Brother Lost is up now.**

* * *

After entering Donnie's workshop, Jezra helped Raph onto a sturdy work table Donnie had already cleared off for them. She eased Raph onto his back, smiling reassuringly to him. He returned it with a weak smile of thanks. He held up his right hand and she took it in both of hers, squeezing it and bringing it to her lips, laying a gentle kiss on it. Leo and Donnie walked in, carrying the hot pot of water between them, even though it was light enough for just one of them to carry. Donnie had a fresh roll of linen in his free hand. They set the pot and the linen down on a clear space on the work table next to Raph's head, grabbing a strip of linen and soaking it in the warm water. She squeezed the excess water out and wiped at Raph's wounds, cleaning away the dried blood and dirt. Once they were clean, she carefully took some salve onto the tips of two fingers and smeared it over the wounds. That done, Jezra took the remaining strips of linen and tightly bound it over his arm and calf, his only two wounds that resulted in blood as the rest were simply large bruises. She then cleaned the blood and salve off her hands in the pot of water, drying them on the hem of her shirt. Leo took the now dirty water and went to dump it. Sensing Raph and Jezra needed a moment, Donnie followed.

Raph slowly sat up, swinging his legs off the table, his hands clutching the edge of the table as Jezra sat beside him. He took her hand in his, intertwining his three fingers with her five. That got a warm, affectionate little smile out of her. She laid her head on his shoulder and he gently kissed her forehead before resting his head against hers. Jezra sighed, something obviously troubling her. Raph didn't have to wait long to find out what.

"I shouldn't have yelled at him like that." She said quietly. It didn't take a genius to realize she was talking about her twin.

"I'm sure Torrak understands where you're coming from." Raph said, trying to reassure her. She sighed.

"Maybe, but it doesn't mean I had to go off on him like that. I mean, I'm pissed that he did this, but I know my brother. He was only doing it because he thought it was right. It's what he tends to do. But that's not to say he should have done it, it's just….." she trailed off. Raph understood.

"Why don't you go out there and talk to him then? Looked like he really missed you. I think Alec and Riley did too." He said. She nodded and hugged him. Raph squeezed her to him then released her.

"Come on." He said, standing up and taking her hand again before leading the way to the door and out to where the others were.

Torrak stood off to the side with the blue masked mutant whose name was Leo, as he filled him in on everything that had happened since the mutants had picked up Torrak's twin. Alec, Riley and Mikey had been joined at the TV by the purple masked mutant named Donnie. Everyone looked up as they heard the door to Donnie's workshop open. Jezra and Raph stood in the doorway, holding hands. Raph gently nudged Jezra with his bandaged shoulder and the two headed towards Leo and Torrak. Torrak took a step forward.

"Jez, look, I'm sor-" he was cut off as Jezra suddenly surged forward, dropping Raph's hand and wrapping her arms tightly around her older brother. Torrak wrapped his arms protectively around his twin as she buried her head in his shoulder, her body shaking with sobs as she cried her happiness into his shirt. Torrak squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to trickle down his cheeks, clutching his sister to him as she grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and clung to them, as if neither would ever let go. Finally, the twins broke apart and Riley and Alec approached. Jezra wrapped them both up in a massive hug as they both returned the gesture.

"Oh my gosh, I've missed you guys." She said as she let go of her younger brothers, wiping tears from her eyes. Behind her, Torrak did the same. Alec and Riley smiled at her before turning to Torrak. Jezra hung her arms around her little brothers' shoulders and smiled at Torrak.

"Ready to go home Baby-Girl?" he asked. Jezra grinned wider.

"Do you even have to ask?" she said. Torrak grinned and Jezra let Alec and Riley go. Everyone headed over to the subway entrance. The turtles all stood along the turnstiles while Jezra's brothers waited on the tracks was Jezra said goodbye to her other family. She hugged Leo, Donnie and Mikey, saving Raph for last.

"Thanks for everything guys." She said as she released Leo. He smiled at her.

"No problem Jez." He said as she hugged Donnie.

"You're gonna come back sometime, right?" Mikey asked as she hugged him. She smiled.

"Wouldn't dream of staying away. I'll come back as soon as I can." She said. Then she took Raph's hand and led him a little ways away, out of earshot from the others. She turned to him and took both of his hands in hers, rubbing the back of his hands with her thumbs. He looked at her and she saw his sadness clear on his face.

"Why do I get the feeling I won't be seeing you for a long time?" he asked. She smiled affectionately at him.

"Like I said, I'll come when I can. But, if I don't come back soon enough for you or you need someone to understand, you'll know where to find me." She said and kissed him good bye on the lips before turning and walking to her brothers as they began to head home. Torrak put his arm around his twin's shoulders as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Ready for home?" he asked. She smiled.

"Dying for it." She answered. He grinned at her and kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"Good to have my better half back." He said.

"Wait, I thought you were the better half." She teased. The two laughed as they followed their younger brothers.

Raph watched Jezra disappear down the tunnel with her family. He turned and slowly followed after his brothers, back into the lair. He headed to Jezra's old 'room' and sat down inside, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes. Jezra had said that when he needed her, he'd be able to find her. He opened his eyes and gazed around. The blankets Jezra had used for a bed still lay along the wall. On an impulse, he shifted the blankets aside to look at the floor beneath. He smiled broadly. Jezra had led him the picture of Jezra and her brothers in front of the warehouse. Her home. He smiled again. He'd wait a while for Jezra to settle back into her old life, checking on her of course, before he'd get her alone. He picked up the picture and turned it over. Jezra had left him a sketch of her jaguar form. He shook his head, chuckling quietly. Oh yeah, life was good.


End file.
